Kognisiewerkwoorde in Afrikaans

Abstract

This is a study of the broad scope of cognition verbs in Afrikaans. Firstly, the nonmetaphorical cognition verbs [e.g. ken (= know), weet (= know), dink (= think), verstaan (= understand)] are discussed and then the metaphorical cognition verbs which are subcategorized in metaphorical verbs of vision [kyk (= look), sien (= see)] and metaphorical manipulation verbs [vorm (= form), gryp (= grab), voel (= feel), vat (= take) etc.]. The study is embedded in the cognitive linguistic stance of embodiment which inter alia implies that our neurological functioning is based on feeling (which includes our sense of touch), and that the way our bodies are structured also determines the way we express our thoughts. This extensive descriptive study of Afrikaans cognition verbs, metaphorical and nonmetaphorical, indicates that visual lexemes in Afrikaans express subtle abstract thought, while manipulation lexemes express less subtle, yet still abstract result-driven thought. Synthesis is an important factor in this study because the non-metaphorical cognition verbs as well as the metaphorical cognition verbs are linked to the basic cognitive principle of embodiment. Also, the two metaphorical verb types can by seen in synthesis when the stage frame ( = vision) and the workshop frame ( = manipulation) are merged. The synthesis of the stage frame and the workshop frame eventually provides us with another perspective, namely that vision and manipulation (which includes touch and feeling) are in a state of interacting nurturing symbiosis.